Neverwinter Nights Forum News (Nov. 27, 04)

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Here are today's Neverwinter Nights forum highlights, collected by NWVault. Please take into account that these are only single parts of various threads and should not be taken out of context. Bear in mind also that the posts presented here are copied as-is, and that any bad spelling and grammar does not get corrected on our end.

Rob Bartel, Senior Designer Live Team

DLA's DD Announcement and Details!

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Great that this high quality content is finally getting out there, the team have been working long and hard on it. However, with it being DD does that mean it will be locked out for builders? I know a lot of poeple will have no problem paying for it (DLA deserve some recognition) but if it can't be used 3rd party then it's a bit of a problem. Same goes for CODI.

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Actually, what DLA's announcement means is that their content, rather than existing solely as a hakpak for the hardcore users, will ultimately be patched into the standard NWN resources for everyone to have access to. Builders will be able to create modules using this content, knowing that 100% of the community has access to it. The DLA team has been really exciting to work with and the first wave of content we've received from them is really slick. Better yet, there'll be more to come. This is a very exciting time to be a NWN fan.

What sets free CC apart from DD CC?

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Locking us out of the custom content, despite the fact that we pay for it, is what really irks me. But to buy it and not get to use it in the Toolset is obnoxious. And forgive me, but statements like "It'll be available in a future patch" sound vague to my cynical ear, like "The check is in the mail...." Yeesh. If we buy it, give it! Releasing CC that way is a more sure-fire way of hooking buyers anyway.

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To a degree, we already have. If you buy any of our current premium modules, David John's excellent music scores are sitting there, in your music folder, ready for use. All you have to do is add it to the proper 2da. Also, the stormy skybox used in the modules is already a part of our internal build of patch 1.65. Internally, we've all agreed that further content from our premium modules needs to make it into subsequent patches. Future premium modules will have a lot more custom content in them (The DLA mod team just announced their involvement, by the way, so infer what you will from that). By necessity, there's a good chance that not all of this content will be encrypted (unless you want three-minute-long load times while we perform the decryption ) In other words, be cynical if you wish, but the proverbial check is in the mail..

Crazy idea for DD: The PRC!
There are a variety of issues, actually. For one, you'll note that we don't use content that's already been released into the wild by the community. When we contracted David John's music, for instance, we did not ask him for any music he had already released. Instead, we asked him for all-new music or music that, at the very least, he had not previously released to the public. Same goes for DLA and the same would have to go for the PRC team. In other words, it's unlikely that you'd see their current batch of Prestige Classes in any upcoming premium modules. That said, they're a talented team doing some interesting stuff and perhaps there'd be some value in contracting some all-new prestige classes. The second issue is one of approvals. Getting WotC to approve David John's music is no problem because it has no real bearing on their intellectual property. Same with something like a tileset or a real-world animal or a portrait for the Night Hag. Prestige classes, on the other hand (especially the prestige classes the community would want the most), have a very direct bearing on Wizards of the Coast's intellectual property. In many cases, despite the PRC team's best efforts, their NWN interpretations of various prestige classes may not line up with WotC's. The third issue is a technical one. I haven't looked into the specifics of how the PRC does what it does and there may be complications of one sort or another when it comes to implementing such a system within our premium module infrastructure. Maybe it's easy, maybe it's hard. I haven't had the time to check.

Georg Zoeller, Designer

Success of premium modules vs. acceptance of copy protection method
You are always free to suggest changes or improvements to our website - best in the WebSite help forum. However, the store got extensive internal and external review and testing before it went online, so you can assume that we are quite happy with it's usability aspects.

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Because, you realize, clicking a hyperlink is essentially the internet equivalent of a footnote.

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No, I don't realize that. A hyperlink is an essential part of www architecture and closer to a "please refer to page 2 for more details on this" reference than to a small print footnote. In addition to the hyperlink, the FAQ and requirements are all over the place on our boards and the store, and the aspect has been discussed extensivly well before and after launch. I understand that it's not a pleasant experience to get a "you should have verified the requirements when the store asked asked you to do that" answer, but maybe it will help you to avoid that kind of problem when you go buy your next car or so... I mean, sure I can understand that you are upset that you purchased these modules and didn't notice the requirements, but judging from the volume of sales and the extremely small number of complaints we got about this (forums, mail), there is no usability issue with that particular part of our store. And you can return the module for a refund if you didn't play them yet.

Authentication Server is DOWN
I think it's nwmaster.bioware.com. Maybe try a traceroute to see where on the way the problem is.

 

I must say the online distribution system is more appealing than copy protections making you either physically or legally unable to make backup copies, so long as you can download your once paid content any time you wish.